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After his match-winning knock against Afghanistan in the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy at the National Stadium on Friday, South Africa's wicketkeeper-batter Ryan Rickelton expressed his feelings after scoring his maiden hundred in the 50-over format.
The 28-year-old southpaw also expressed disappointment in the manner of his dismissal and said he wanted to take on the aggressive route after reaching the milestone. Rickelton won the 'Player of the Match' award for his century. The wicketkeeper-batter scored 103 in 106 balls, with seven fours and a six. His runs came at a strike rate of 97.16. "Was nervous coming into today, first ICC event. Was a bit edgy but happy to contribute to the team in a winning performance. We thought the surface would be a bit tacky, but it played alright. The bounce was a bit inconsistent but we worked our way through it. I thought we played nicely with the batting we had in the tank to get a competitive total on the board," Ryan Rickleton said in the post-match presentation. "Disappointing to get out always, especially in that manner. Was looking to pull the trigger after that, but the guys who came in after did that and we managed to pick up a few extra boundaries. It is something I have done since I was a young kid, wasn't too difficult. Wasn't the best night with the gloves, but will learn from these mistakes," he added. Rickelton continued his fine resurgence across all formats of the game in 2025, becoming the first South African player to score a century on his ICC Champions Trophy debut. The opener became the first Proteas to score a century on CT debut. The southpaw has joined legends like Herschelle Gibbs, Hashim Amla, Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis to have centuries in the tournament. The left-hand batter has joined former Proteas batter Gary Kirsten as the second South African player to score century on ICC tournament debut, with Kirsten having smashed 188 against UAE during his ICC Cricket World Cup debut in 1996 at Rawalpindi. With this, the 28-year-old continues his fine all-format form this year so far. He started the year with a magnificent 259 against Pakistan at Cape Town in Tests and followed it with a fine, title-winning SA20 season three for MI Cape Town. In the tournament, he made 336 runs in eight innings at an average of 48.00 and a strike rate of 178.72, with three fifties, becoming his side's top run-getter. (ANI)
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